Tidal Wave Bat Makes Big Splash In Softball World

But the genius of the Tidal Wave by Spalding isn`t found on the outside. It`s inside.

Hold the bat upright, and it feels basically normal. Although it seems a bit bottom-heavy, the bat is still nothing uncommon.

Cock it to the ready position, step and swing: That`s where the genius can be felt.

``Maybe it`s all psychological,`` said Tim Boyle of Plantation, a Tidal Wave enthusiast, ``but I get a thrill out of using the bat.``

As the bat swings forward, water rushes from the handle to the head, creating added force to apply to the ball. Like a whip, the energy increases until the final snap of the wrist, just at the moment of impact.

As soon as the first swing is taken, the stroke of genius in the design is readily apparent. Its perfection is in the simplicity. It doesn`t take a physicist to immediately figure it all out: the design, the purpose and the result.

``I`m not sure exactly why I helps, but it does,`` Boyle said. ``I have a regular bat, but I don`t use it anymore in games. The Tidal Wave is my bat.``

Spalding introduced the bat more than a year ago, without a lot of fanfare. Lombard`s Sporting Goods liked the idea enough to order some bats and test the market.

Seven months later, Lombard`s is discovering that the bat is slowly -- yet surely -- being discovered by the softball world.

``There was a little apprehension at first,`` said Harlan Rosenberg, manager of the Lombard`s in Lauderhill. ``For a while, we had to show the bat to people. Now they come in asking for it. We probably sell three or four a month, and that appears to be increasing. It`s selling a little better than we expected.``

The bat is designed with a hollow space running from the top of the handle to the end of the barrel, and that space is partially filled with water. Rosenberg says that is the bat`s only unique feature. In all other respects, it is the same as other bats.

It is labelled with the words ``Official Softball,`` meaning the bat has been cleared by all softball governing bodies. Some umpires say they won`t allow the bat to be used, but Boyle says he has only been questioned about its acceptability once.

When he showed the umpire the ``Official Softball`` label, the umpire was satisified.

``Of course if the handle is broken or something like that,`` Boyle said, ``it can`t be used. But other than that, it`s a legal bat. If it wasn`t, it would be labled `Official Softball.` ``

Boyle, a member of Sunrise Industrial League`s Sideo Video team and coach of the Plantation Women`s Softball League`s Gold Coast Self Storage team, agrees with Rosenberg concerning the bat`s ability to help hitters. It doesn`t improve power, both say, but it does help batters who stay away from home runs and concentrate on base hits.

Boyle also says that no member of his women`s softball team who has tried the bat likes it.

``I always try to hit ground balls instead of fly balls,`` said Boyle, a Fort Lauderdale firefighter. ``When I am using that bat, I get on base quite often. I`m going to stick with it.

``A lot of guys on my Sunrise softball team have tried it. Some like it, some don`t like it all. I guess it`s more in the mind than anything else.``

The bat, even with its progressive design, is moderately priced between $25 and $30. It comes in Little League and softball models, and is available in a variety of lengths and weights.

Considering the movement of water, many softball players think the bat will not have a solid feel, Rosenberg says. But once they try it, their minds are often changed.

``It`s for people who are a bit adventurous,`` Rosenberg said. ``Before they use it, they expect it to feel weird. But once they hit with it, they discover that it is a very solid bat. That`s what really surprises people.``